Engineering company benefits from composite use

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Feb 16, 2007

Vistagy is growing thanks to rapid growth in the civil and regional aircraft manufacturing industry, coupled with unprecedented demand for carbon-fibre composite material.

Rapid growth in the civil and regional aircraft manufacturing industry, coupled with unprecedented demand for carbon-fibre composite material used in aerospace products and parts, has provided Vistagy with a platform for pursuing significant new growth opportunities in 2007.

Vistagy cited market evidence that supports the need for its specialised engineering software tools across the global supply chain for today's new composite aircraft designs.

The increased use of composite materials in aerospace applications will dramatically change the economics of flight and the process of developing aircraft.

Recent successes using composites for major new commercial, military, regional and very light jet (VLT) aircraft programs, as well as the promise of part consolidation to lower manufacturing costs, weight reduction for increased fuel efficiency, and improved fatigue resistance for better durability and lower maintenance costs, have driven the demand for these composite materials.

Analysts estimate that the current composites market for the aerospace industry is more than US $7 billion, with the production of finished carbon-fibre composite components and structures accounting for US $5.5 billion.

The global market is expected to reach US $14 billion within ten years and could quadruple by 2026.

"In the coming years, aerospace engineers will need to completely re-engineer their entire product development process, from conceptual design to manufacturing and quality assurance, to realise the business benefits and technology advancements that composite materials promise", said Steve Luby, President and CEO at Vistagy.

"Their success depends on how well they transform their engineering processes and streamline their global supply chain".

"Our specialised engineering software and services have helped numerous organisations begin that transformation and enabled faster, more accurate and more efficient composite product development".

Hundreds of aerospace manufacturers around the world, as well as their globally distributed suppliers, are using Vistagy's CAD-integrated software to capture and communicate truly complete 3D digital product definitions throughout their development chains.

Leading manufacturers including AleniaAermacchi, Terma, Korea Aerospace Industries, Shenyang Aircraft Corporation, GKN Aerospace Engineering Services, P and Z Engineering, and China Helicopter Research and Development Institute have selected Vistagy's FiberSIM software for composites design and manufacturing.

FiberSIM, powered by Vistagy's unique EnCapta technology, helps engineers in the aerospace industry streamline many of the tedious, time-consuming and complex tasks for designing and manufacturing composite products.

Vistagy also recently announced its Airframe Design Environment (ADE) software.

It is the first application fully integrated into commercial CAD systems that is specifically tailored to designing and manufacturing airframes.

The ADE enables aerospace engineers to define all essential non-geometric information, such as airframe joints, sealants and fastening hardware, and associate it with the relevant geometry.

The software then automates critical design calculations, like distance to edge and distance between fasteners, and defines conditions of supply to create truly complete 3D digital product definitions of airframe components and assemblies.

As a result, manufacturers in the aerospace industry can more efficiently, quickly and cost-effectively develop aircraft.

All software applications powered by EnCapta, including the Airframe Design Environment, operate within the Catia V5, Pro/Engineer Wildfire and NX CAD systems.